Griffiths reaches state title match; quest for PIAA gold comes Saturday

IMG_4030Eighteen minutes was all it took Tyler Griffiths to secure his spot in finals that he’s been waiting to take on for the past three years.

Griffiths took on Gabe Miller of Pequea Valley in his semi-final, but it was nothing easy as he had to battle back to pull ahead. Miller scored a first period takedown to then get rewarded three back points to give him a 5-0 edge on Griffiths. However, Griffiths managed to get out of the lock to earn a reversal to tighten the score to 5-2 at the end of the first period.

The second period opened for the wrestlers that led to Griffiths gettimg a takedown followed by Miller earning a reversal to make the score 7-4. For Miller though, that was the last of the points he would earn as Griffiths powered past Miller in the third period.

Griffiths started on the bottom, but quickly broke free to get the reversal followed by a takedown passing Miller to make the score 8-7. The score only elevated from there as Griffiths was rewarded with three more back points along with a technical violation to get the 12-7 decision.

Griffiths is set to take on Brian Courtney of Athens Saturday night in the finals to go for state gold and to be Southmoreland’s second state champion after Jake Beistel took the title last year.

About Loralee Yutzy
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